1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to methods and systems for use in oilfield data gathering. In particular, the invention provides a method, apparatus and system for assessing the probability of production at a wellsite.
2. Background of the Invention
In a typical exploration phase of potential wellsites, once a structure containing hydrocarbons is located, either through seismic or other techniques, a plurality of exploratory wells are drilled into the field. From those exploratory wells, a determination is made as to whether the field can be developed into an economically viable production field. That is, operating engineers determine whether enough production can be extracted from the field to overcome the huge capital expenditure necessary to develop the site. Quite simply, the question is asked, “is it profitable to develop the field?”
However, information that is gathered from the exploratory wells often does not provide adequate information for the operation engineer to make an informed decision. When telltale properties of the formation are “good,” for example, the formation has a high porosity, a high saturation, a high natural flow profile, and a high permeability, a wealth of information can be obtained from just the exploratory wells, and well informed decisions regarding the economic development of the field can be made. For the most part, a lot of exploration is built around the assessment of these exploratory wells. If the formation has good permeability and flow characteristics, a few simple tests can be performed to determine information on the size and quantity of the site.
However, when telltale properties of the formation are not good, for example, the reservoir has low permeability or porosity, information gathered from exploratory wells may not realize any useful data. Even after spending millions in drilling the several exploratory wells, if the reservoir properties are not conducive to supplying good data, the data gathered from the exploratory wells may not provide adequate information to make an educated decision as to whether the site should be further developed. Operators are left knowing little more than before any of the exploratory wells had been conducted. Quite a few fields are therefore falsely labeled as dry, or not-economically viable, due to adequate information about the wellsite not being available.